Many believed McKay would go the way of so many other promising kids by disappearing into obscurity but the youngster had different ideas.

And when he arrived back at Murray Park in the summer to find Mark Warburton and Davie Weir revolutionising the club from top to bottom, McKay made sure he could not be ignored.

The wide man is now one of the first names on the team sheet and has broken into the Scotland Under-21 squad. And he reckons if he can do it, others can follow.

McKay yesterday collected a cheque for £175,000 on behalf of the Rangers Youth department, the latest donation from the Rangers Youth Development Company, which has provided more than £7million since 2002.

Having been through the system, the youngster was delighted to publicise the work that goes on behind the scenes to fund it through profits made from initiatives such as the Rangers Lotto, Rising Stars, Scratchcards and Stadium Bricks.

“The youth department is a big factor at every club,” McKay said. “If you have young players coming through you don’t need to go out and get other players. They need to be ready for the challenge.

“I would like to think of myself as a role model for the younger ones. I have been out on loan, come back and I am a better playing for doing that.

“I’ve spoken to the young boys that have gone out on loan, I have told them that they need to go out and get the games they are not getting here.

“It can work. It is a big experience going out on loan and you see that different side of football. It is good to get that and see the way that teams train differently. I was a wee bit worried when I went out but at the same time I always had that belief in my ability that I could come back and do a job here.

“The new gaffer came in and he gave me that chance. Being sent out on loan benefited me because I got to go out and pick up some experience.

“But you do feel you’re not really wanted at Rangers at the time and that you’re not really needed.

“At least I felt Morton and Raith wanted me when I went there.

“The times on loan were tough because Rangers is where I want to be playing my games. But the loans have really helped me become a different kind of player.

Barrie McKay has been in fine form since getting back into the Rangers side

“I had to keep going and not look back on what could have been, not think about what a great facility Murray Park is and how great it is to play in front of 50,000 at Ibrox.

“It did that and it is good to be back here now.”

McKay played in Rangers’ first game in the Third Division, at Peterhead, and is desperate to complete the journey by playing in the top flight next season.

He added: “I have changed a lot since that first day. I have matured on and off the pitch and I need to keep getting better.

“It is exciting for me. I started the journey with the club down in the bottom division and I want to take it back to the top division.”

With that in mind, new contract talks are almost complete and the winger expects to sign a long-term deal imminently.

He said: “I want to stay and they have offered me a deal. It is really close. Hopefully I can get it done as soon as possible and get myself tied down.

“The gaffer has told me I have been doing well enough to deserve a contract so I need to repay him and keep going.”

McKay credits Warburton for re-igniting his career but the spark had to come from within initially. That, and a mental strength to be able to perform in front of massive crowds at Ibrox.

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He added: “You need to be able to play in front of the crowds here. They expect so much of you to go out there and perform and you need to do it every week. It is just the way football is, or you lose your jersey.

“But it is something that has never really bothered me. As I came through as a young boy, I was never really fazed by the crowds so that has probably helped me.

“I have come back again, I’m quite chilled out and I don’t let stuff get to me.

“There is competition and it is good in every squad. It can only make me push on further to keep them out of the team.

“If we bring in quality players, it is up to the people that are here to not make it easy for them to walk into the team.

“I have the freedom to go wherever I want and stay out as wide as I want.

“I also have the confidence to be able to beat the defenders, which I was maybe a bit wary of when I was coming through.

“As the season has gone on, I have believed in myself that much more and a lot of that is down to the manager.

“I have started most games this season and he has told me I have been playing well.

Ryan Hardie in action against Falkirk (Image: Sammy Turner/SNS Group)

“That shows how much confidence he has in me. I need to keep that going.

“He has given me the chance that maybe other managers haven’t so I just need to repay him for that.”

And McKay revealed that the new regime’s insistence on every player having individual diet and gym routines tailored to their needs has played a massive part in his success this term.

He said: “There are more individual programmes now. I prefer to go to the gym and know that it is benefitting me rather than doing the same programmes that everyone is doing.

“That could benefit some people but not benefit others. It is good for me to just get the ones that are benefitting me and hopefully that shows.”

McKay and Danny Wilson are the only Murray Park graduates currently getting regular starts in the first-team but the winger believes others will follow.

He said: “Ryan Hardie and Jordan Thompson are training with us every day. Hardie just scores goals and Jordan is a very good player. They just need to wait for their chance and when it comes they have to take it.”